Religion and Human Rights in Indonesia

The focus of our Indonesia program is supporting knowledge building and awareness about religion and human rights, in particular the right of freedom of religion or belief, and the rights of women and children.

Arch, sunset and religious buildings

PROJECT: Indonesia. Istock Photo. Photo credit: Leolintan

Background 

In Indonesia, during the last two decades, we have been supporting and cooperating with Universities and civil society organisations to promote knowledge and capacity building on religion and human rights, with a focus on freedom of religion or belief.

Current focus:

In cooperation with our local partners some of our focus areas are:

  • Knowledge building on religion and human rights, with a focus on freedom of religion or belief.
  • Capacity development of religious court judges, religious functionaries and religious personnel concerning gender issues, children's rights, including child marriage and the best interests of the child.
  • Reproductive health and religion. 
  • Emerging perspectives on religion and environmental issues.

Publications

The projects in Indonesia have resulted in numerous publications, in Indonesian as well as in English translation, and translation into Indonesian. Among them are:

Shari'a and Human Rights: A Coursebook, (2022), a bilingual book edited by and with contributions from Cekli S. Pratiwi, Lena Larsen, Brett G. Scharffs, and Tore Lindholm. This book was based on a course at the Muhammadiya University in Malang.

Testimony of the faithful: A Study on Muslim Women and Fundamentalism in Indonesia, (2020). This book was based on a research project at the grassroots by Rumah Kitab.

Other books concerns studies on the Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) on human rights, on children, child marriage and the position of the legal guardian as well as several volumes on fatwa making concerning a range of topics.  

Freedom of Expression in Islam: Challenging Blasphemy and Apostasy Laws, (2021), edited by Muhammaed Khalid Masud, Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen and Christian Moe, was published in Indonesia by Mizan publishers with the title Kebebasan Berekspresi dalam Islam: Menggugat Hukum Kemurtadan dan Penodaan Agama (2023).

Contact:

Lena Larsen

Working group members

Published Aug. 17, 2017 11:28 AM - Last modified Feb. 6, 2024 9:33 AM